Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Prostitution in Bangladesh has been legal since the year 2000. However, as Bangladesh is a conservative Muslim country, prostitution carries negative social stigmas. Despite this, severe poverty and economic stagnation have forced women previously employed in other sectors to become prostitutes. Furthermore, many sex workers are underage and child prostitution is rife. Female sex workers are often abused and and always underpaid, earning as little as $0.50 per customer.

However, there is growing awareness among sex workers and they have started to organize themselves in unions. One organization of sex workers is called the “Prostitute Association of Faridfur,” founded in Faridpur district, near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. These associations were formed to establish a “union” among sex workers and protect them from abuse. Despite the face of a unified force in having associations to represent these sex workers, radical Islamic conservatives have openly condemned these women. In 2010, these radicals burned a brothel to the ground. That incident injured two women and left all of the other tenants homeless.

These photos offer intimate portraits of women who's daily lives consist of abuse and exploitation as they struggle to survive on the fringes of one of the poortest societies on earth.

Ilula, Tanzania, July 23, 2014 - Sista Laurentina Bukombe doing a skin check-up during the trimestral meeting. She is a nun graduated in dermatology who is collaborating with Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre and Tulime Association, providing albinos with sunscreen lotion, medical check-ups and proper treatment if needed. In this area there had never been killings, so the first enemy of albinos is the sun.

Ilula, Tanzania, July 21, 2014 - Alufema mends a carpet. She is one of the persons with albinism of the Kilolo District censed by the Tulime Association. There have never been killings in this area, so the first enemy of albinos is the sun. The census was fundamental in order to be able to help the albinos of the area with sunscreen cream and medical check-ups. The national census does not provide correct and actual data about albinism.

Ilula, Tanzania, July 21, 2014 - Angela with one of her four children, none of whom have albinism. She is one of the persons with albinism of the Kilolo District censed by Tulime Association. There have never been killings in this area, so the first enemy of albinos is the sun. The census was fundamental in order to be able to help the albinos of the area with sunscreen cream and medical check-up. The national census does not provide correct and actual data about albinism.

“I was pretending to be asleep, but I saw them cutting her throat and drinking her blood, and then cutting her arms and legs…” These are the words of Mmindi, recalling the night in December 2008 when her 5-year-old sister, Mariam, was murdered in front of her.

Mariam had albinism. In the inner regions of Sub-Saharian Africa people with albinism have a very hard life. Not only do they need to fight against the cancer-causing rays of the harsh tropical sun, but they must also fight stigma and discrimination. Myths and stigmas about Albinos sometimes have horrific results. For examlpe, in recent years, traditional medicine has furthered the belief that albino body parts have elements with magical powers that give success and fortune. This myth has resulted in brutal killings of albinos with the aim of harvesting their body parts. Mariam was a victim of such an attack.

Another major struggle for albinos is protecting themselves from the sun. Those living in areas with little access to health care also struggle to protect themselves from the sun and treat problems arising from UV exposure.

From the Lake Victoria region, where killings and discrimination still infringe upon these people's human rights, to the Iringa region tormented with an absence of healthcare, albinos in Tanzania are increasingly at risk as of late. The lack of proper information about albinism, in a country in which 1 out of 2.000 people is albino (in Europe and North America the ratio is 1 out of 20.000), leaves the doors to discrimination wide open. For these people, the Tanzanian government has never been able to guarantee health, education or security. Only through the help of N.G.O.s like Under The Same Sun and Tulime does a bright future seem possible for the albinos.

Mwanza, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - Jelly's Primary School in Mwanza. In this school Under The Same Sun (UTSS) is the full sponsor for 36 children. This allows them to study in a normal mixed school instead of centers for persons with sight disabilities. In Tanzania albinos are considered disabled, but they just might have sight problems.

Mwanza, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - Jelly's Primary School in Mwanza. In this school Under The Same Sun (UTSS) is the full sponsor for 36 children. This allows them to study in a normal mixed school instead of centers for persons with sight disabilities. In Tanzania albinos are considered disabled, but they just might have sight problems.

Mwanza, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - Jelly's Primary School in Mwanza. In this school Under The Same Sun (UTSS) is the full sponsor for 36 children. This allows them to study in a normal mixed school instead of centers for persons with sight disabilities. In Tanzania albinos are considered disabled, but they just might have sight problems.

Shinyanga, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - Masalu, 18 years old is both deaf and mute. She arrived with her two siblings at the Buhangija Center for persons with sight disabilities in Shinyanga, Tanzania, after the last killing of an albino that took place in May 2014. She became pregnant after being raped. The center was the immediate answer by the government to the killings of albinos that started in 2007 in the lake area. Nowadays around 200 people of all ages are living in this center together.

Shinyanga, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - A child dozes off in Buhangija Center for persons with sight disabilities in Shinyanga, Tanzania. The center is defined as a school, but it hosts 200 people of all ages assisted by two teachers and living in precarious conditions.

Shinyanga, Tanzania, July 8, 2014 - Courtyard of Buhangija Center for persons with sight disabilities in Shinyanga, Tanzania. The center was the immediate answer of the government to the killings of albinos that started in 2007 in the lake area. Nowadays around 200 people of all ages are living in this center together.

This sign at St. George's Yacht Club and Marina, used to only say, "STOP SOLIDERE." But after Rahel Abebe, a migrant worker from Ethiopia, was discriminatorily denied entry to the St. George Yacht Club & Marina, the Anti-Racism filed lawsuit on her behalf. The result, most importantly to her, the sign now reads underneath the large writing, "STOP DISCRIMINATION." She has been in Beirut for nearly 14 years and also has a catering service, on the side of her work in a cafe, cooking Ethiopian food.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

Known to provide good luck in religious ceremonies, the 'hijra' -term known in India to men who are castrated but who do not complete the sex change process- transvestites and transgenders also face the inflexibility of a society that condemns them and suffer police abuse, begging and prostitution, often under the control of mafias. They belong to the social group most discriminated in India. A primary reason of the exclusion is the lack of legal recognition of the gender status of the Hijras and other transgender people. It is the major obstacle that often prevent them in exercising their rights. Society denies them of employment which leads them to prostitution and begging. The blessing of a 'hijra' is considered necessary for newborns and newlyweds to succeed. These services are paid well but not as much as sex. Hence, most of them prefer to sell their bodies on the streets. The 'hijras' prostitutes suffer a high prevalence of HIV and syphilis. They are a weak and easy target unbacked by society.

ENGLISH - In Cuba, the transsexual community is persecuted by authorities, but resistance is strong in the city of Santa Clara. Here the arts are serving the cause of social integration at a theatre called El Mejunje.

Mr. Xiong cannot get hospital treatment. Time and time again, he has tried to get treated, but he has been refused repeatedly by hospital staff, despite the fact that he desperately needs a serious surgery. This is because 31-year-old Mr. Xiong is HIV positive.

Despite the fact that the Chinese government issued a law in 2006 that guaranteed HIV carriers the right to marry, access health-care services and equal work opportunities education, this is often not the case in practice. In one survey taken, nearly half of HIV carriers reported having faced some discrimination related to HIV, and over 12 percent had been refused medical care. Mr. Xiong himself was fired from his job when his boss discovered he was infected. His family rejected him. He started seeking treatment at hospitals, but hit a massive wall of reluctance from hospital staff to treat him as well.

Misinformation about the risk of being infected is rife, even in the medical industry. Mr. Xiong speaks about how once, a hospital employee put on plastic gloves and used a metal object to move a piece of paper he signed his name on.

Through interviews and firsthand footage, a video journalist illuminates the experience of an HIV carrier in China today, even following him to a hospital where a doctor refuses to treat him because of his disease.

In August 2012 the rioting began. Fueled by religious extremists and invisible politicians with murky motives, arson spread to every major city in Myanmar.

In the beginning the lynching of three Muslims in the country's most westerly state sparked cycles of revenge attacks between it's two inhabiting ethnic groups, the native Buddhists and the Muslim Rohingya, descendents of immigrant Bangladeshi sherpas working for British colonialists. A dawn-to-dusk curfew was enforced by martial law, the streets desolate with shutters pulled low over the normally bustling markets. Workers stopped turning up for work and at night they defended their villages from creeping arsonists. Acres of downtown turned to blackened wastelands, whole blocks of wooden houses reduced to ash. Possessions and the skeletons of livestock lay amongst the fallen rubble where they were left, and orphanages filled with abandoned children.

Since, targets have widened to include anyone of Muslim faith in Myanmar. In cities like Sittwe, Meikhtila, Mandalay, and Lashio the attacks follow a similar pattern, an individual racist attack, a lynching in response, followed by cycles of revenge attacks from both sides. Houses are burnt, hundreds die, and thousands are left homeless. Muslims being the minority, accounting for only 5% of the country's population, always come off worse. They are no longer allowed to vote, travel, or hold positions within the government services.

Now the military struggles to contain and downplay the violence, President U Thein Sein admits the country's push for democracy is jeopardized, complicating the idea of budding democracy amongst peaceful Buddhists.

In Burmese markets, luminous “969” stickers tell Buddhists where to spend their money. Rows of stalls proudly display the logo; tyre shops, jade booths, hotels, betel carts and pharmacies. But this is not a method of religious inclusion, it's a ploy to keep Muslims out. An aggressive nationalistic movement, of which Buddhist monk Wirathu is figurehead.

Wirathu was released from prison in 2011, after serving seven years for inciting religious violence. He was released under a government amnesty program.

"Muslims are only well behaved when they are weak, "said Wirathu in an interview with the Global Post. "When they become strong, they are like a wolf or a jackal; in large packs they hunt down other animals."

The number 969 is taken from the Buddhist texts, where each number relates to an aspect of the religion - Buddha, Dhamma (teachings), and Sanga (monks) – the Three Gems of Buddhism. But under the peaceful umbrella of promoting trade between Buddhists and protecting their cultural identity, the 969 are segregating faith and commerce, undermining religious relations, and driving a wedge with continued violence. But the movement's roots grow into something much more sinister, the beginnings of genocidal thinking, and right wing nationalism.